A classic lemon cake.
Source: Lemon Bliss Cake by PJ Hamel for King Arthur Baking
Ingredients
Cake
- 16 Tbsp (227g) unsalted butter @ room temperature
- 400g sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 360g flour
- 1 cup milk
- zest of 2 lemons
Glaze
- 1/3 cup (74g) lemon juice
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
Icing
- 170g confectioner's sugar
- pinch of salt
- 28-43g fresh lemon juice
Procedure
Oven @ 350 F
- Cream butter, sugar, and salt.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
- Whisk baking powder into flour. Add the flour to the mix, in three parts, alternating with the milk (flour milk flour milk flour). Mix until well-combined. May look weird but shouldn't have lumps.
- Stir in zest and oil.
- Grease a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan. I use shortening to coat the inside of a fancypants spiral bundt pan and the cake comes out cleanly without sticking or breaking. Spoon in batter, level with spatula.
- Bake 45-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
- While baking, make the glaze. Stir lemon juice and sugar, microwave in 30-second bursts to dissolve the sugar.
- Remove the cake from the pan, onto a baking rack. If you need to, run a knife around the edge. If it doesn't work, wait 5 minutes and try again. If it fails again, give it five more minutes and a gentle shake. (If it's still stuck, good luck).
- Brush the glaze over the hot cake. Let it sink in and soak.
- Cool completely.
- Make the icing. Mix sugar, salt, and just enough lemon juice to make a thick glaze, barely pourable. Drizzle artfully over cake.